This invention relates to a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material, more specifically to a light-sensitive silver halide photographic material more emphasized in the inter-image effect (interlayer effect, hereinafter called I.I.E.), improved in color reproducibility, sharpness and graininess thereby and further excellent in stability with the lapse of time, particularly excellent in stability under high temperature and high humidity.
In general, to the light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material, it is required the photographic characteristics of being smoothness and not rough in light and shade of subject groups for forming images, i.e., being good in graininess; or being sharp in contours of an image and to be drawn a fine image without fade, i.e., being good in sharpness, etc. In recent years, accompanying to the high sensitization of the color photographic material and miniaturization of a camera, these requirements have increasingly been heightened. Of these, requirement to color reproducibility has particularly been heightened. Also, requirements to quality stabilization have increasingly been heightened with the spread of compact laboratory and automatic printer.
The techniques for improving color reproducibility by emphasizing I.I.E. with the use of DIR couplers have been known, and various compounds are used as these DIR compounds. For example, there may be included the so-called DIR couplers which form color forming dyes through the oxidized product of a color developing agent simultaneously with release of a developing inhibitor during development, the so-called DIR substances which release a developing inhibitor through the reaction with the oxidized product of a color developing agent but do not form a color forming dye, those which can release directly or indirectly a developing inhibitor through the reaction with the oxidized product of a color developing agent as disclosed in Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 145135/1979, No. 154234/1982, No. 162949/1983, No. 205150/1983, No. 195643/1984, No. 206834/1984, No. 206836/1984, No. 210440/1984 and No. 7429/1985 (hereinafter called timing DIR compounds). In the present specification, those exhibiting the above DIR effect are called comprehensively as the DIR compounds.
When these DIR compounds are used in light-sensitive silver halide color materials, developing inhibitors can be released from DIR compounds during development to obtain the effect of inhibiting development in other silver halide emulsion layers, namely I.I.E. Particularly, DIR compounds capable of releasing the so-called diffusive inhibiting groups or diffusive developing inhibitor precursors are effective. They have been used for silver halide color films in these days to give some effects. However, due to strong directional tendency of I.I.E. (for example, strong in the direction from a blue-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer to a green-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer, but weak in the opposite direction), although improvement of saturation (chroma) of a specific color may be expected, an undesirable effect of "dislocation in hue" is accompanied therewith. Also, with respect to diffusiveness, since the inhibiting effect acts most strongly on the added layer, and therefore problems are involved such as lowering in gamma (.gamma.), lowering in sensitivity, lowering in color formed density, etc. Thus, it is difficult to use an amount which can give sufficient effects to other layers.
The techniques for emphasizing I.I.E. from a color-sensitive layer to a different color-sensitive layer with the use of the so-called diffusive DIR compound are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 47379/1980, Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 93344/1982, No. 56837/1982 and No. 131937/1984. Even by use of these techniques, only unsatisfactory improvement of color reproducibility can be expected under the present situation.
Also, in Japanese Patent Application No. 93411/1985 (which corresponds to our co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 854,141 and European Patent Application No. 86 303 155. 5), a technique in which a DIR compound is so contained as to become a development inhibiting power of a sensitive layer added therein a diffusive DIR is higher than a development inhibiting power to the other sensitive layers has been disclosed and while it is insufficient color reproducibility has been improved as compared with the prior art. However, when these DIR compound is employed, with a lapse of time under high temperature and high humidity, lowering in the maximum coloring density and lowering in sensitivity would be caused, and particularly in the color photographic material, suffering a slippage in color hue and it becomes serious problem in practical use.